Swiatek wins last eight games in a row to pass Yastremska test in Dubai

No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek

View Profile survived a barrage of power hitting from Dayana Yastremska

View Profile to advance to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships quarterfinals 7-5, 6-0 in 1 hour and 32 minutes.

Dubai: Draws | Scores | Order of play 

Swiatek had lost her only previous meeting with Yastremska 7-6(2), 6-4 in 2019 Billie Jean King Cup action, and had suffered a heavy 6-3, 6-1 defeat in last week's Doha semifinals to Jelena Ostapenko

View Profile . The Ukrainian, who has a similar all-out commitment to first-strike aggression as Ostapenko, did not hold back in the first set. Swiatek had to battle to close it out as Yastremska fought back from 5-3 down, saving the first two set points against her.

Five-time major champion Swiatek found herself in the rare position of being on the back foot in most of the rallies, mustering just two winners in the first set to Yastremska's 16. But unlike Ostapenko in Doha, Yastremska was unable to sustain her best hitting to gain any real momentum or take the lead at any point. Her cascade of unforced errors accounted for 47 of Swiatek's total of 67 points won.

"I knew I had many opportunities to break Dayana on her serve, so I just wanted to be consistent with my service games and I knew the chances are going to come," said Swiatek in her on-court interview. "We have many girls on tour right now who are heavy hitters and they risk it. If it's in, it's impossible to get it. If it's out, you grab these points and be grateful for them. It's not easy -- you have to have a lot of patience and acceptance."

Despite finding a series of thrilling winners to level at 5-5 in the opener, Yastremska's level dipped sharply after that. She won just one more point in the first set, losing it on a wild forehand miss, and then just eight points total in the second set. Swiatek was thus able to reel off the last eight straight games to set up a quarterfinal date with No. 12 seed Mirra Andreeva

View Profile , who raced past Peyton Stearns

View Profile 6-1, 6-1 in 1 hour and 13 minutes. The result put Andreeva into her fifth quarterfinal at WTA 1000 level or above.

Andreeva and Stearns were both playing their second match of Wednesday, after both won second-round matches postponed from Tuesday due to rain. Earlier, Andreeva held off former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova

View Profile 7-5, 6-0, improving to 2-0 overall against the Czech, who required medical treatment on her wrist between sets.

Stearns notched a milestone win with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 upset of No. 7 seed Zheng Qinwen, her first Top 10 victory at her 11th attempt. The American had lost a trio of three-set heartbreakers in Australia last month to Top 20 opponents -- 7-6(7), 4-6, 7-5 to Daria Kasatkina

View Profile in Brisbane, 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-5 to Paula Badosa

View Profile in Adelaide and 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 7-5 to Emma Navarro

View Profile at the Australian Open. Her defeat of Zheng levels her three-set record in 2025 at three wins to three losses. Zheng is now on a three-match losing streak, having notched just one victory this year so far over Anca Todoni

View Profile in the Australian Open first round.